Last night Coulter went on a twitter tirade after being bumped from her seat on a New York – Florida flight. She criticized the way Delta agents handled the situation and photographed the passenger who wound up with her aisle seat.

So glad I took time investigate the aircraft & PRE-BOOK a specific seat on @Delta, so some woman could waltz at the last min & take my seat.

Coulter makes it sound as though she lost a seat with extra legroom. However according to Delta she was moved from her pre-assigned exit row aisle seat to a window seat in the same row — which is still less desirable, but different facts than appeared in Coulter’s twitter feed.

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Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

I’m sure most of the folks slamming Coulter so vehemently are doing so because they’ve never been forced out of their assigned seat just because another passenger wanted it. If it happens to you–and it will eventually unless you stop flying altogether–it’s almost inevitable your new seat will be worse than the original one you reserved or somebody wouldn’t have bothered to cajole a gate agent into switching. If you don’t mind moving seats at the last minute (maybe it will be exit row aisle to exit row window like what apparently happened here or, more likely, you’ll be ten rows back in the cabin) please keep defending the merits of arbitrary seat changes.

@WR… Oh please, give me a break. This same things happens to people every day. Ann Coulter might have received some sympathy had it not been for her bullying tactics and shaming innocent people on her Twitter account. I hope she get sued for being so irresponsible. People think they can do and say whatever they want on Twitter without any repercussions.

Having paid for an economy class seat with extra leg room, she was originally booked in a window seat with extra leg room in the very row in which she finally sat in a window seat with extra leg room.

For some period of time she had an aisle seat in the very same row in which she was originally booked and in which she flew, but her being reassigned back to a window seat with extra legroom in the same row came with an opportunity for her to set herself off.

I think it’s unfortunate that Gary removes perfectly valid and polite comments. The times when Flyertalk and the methods there were the final word on the public discussion of flying are over, fortunately – and your blogs are a leftover format from the 00’s. Treat your readers with respect.

Having said that, I wonder why the opening statement:

>Ann Coulter has not been a fan of Delta for several years, but she continues to fly them.

doesn’t give some pause for reflection over the unfortunate oligopoly that dominates the US domestic market. Surely, it cannot only be because Gary thinks bad things happening to Ann Coulter will somehow reverse the outcome of the presidential election?

Let me say upfront as a disclaimer that I loathe and despise Ms. Coulter. That is not an attack on her, but an expression of my opinion of her. However, how was this not Delta’s mistake? Some people like window seats and hate aisle seats. Some people the reverse. I believe that everyone hates the middle seat. It doesn’t matter that they moved to the window seat in the same extra-room row. She didn’t get what she paid for. I think it was wrong of her to post a photo of the person who occupied “her” seat. Although, she has a beef with Delta and she has a platform to express her dissatisfaction. Delta throw her more than $30 and a snide reply. That’s like throwing a penny tip at a stripper.

Why can’t Delta just give her the god damn seat she paid for and why can’t Delta shut the hell up and stop abusing Ms Coulter. I am squarely on her side on this one. Death Airlines. Never for me and this just reinforces it.

Imagining walking into a deli and ordering a ham and cheese sandwich, paying and being stopped at the door so they can take the ham sandwich away from me, give it to the guy in line behind me and give me a PB and J sandwich. Then when I complain…getting told I can have my $5 back and called names for being upset. Stellar business model. Wonder how long that deli would be there.

Not knowing what a long legged dachshund woman is, I googled it…that’s a dog! You lost your seat to a dog Ann. I wouldn’t be talking about it. Next time do a selfie with it and gain some popularity.
Also, get a game plan to deal with your OCD, because nobody cares about where you sit for 3 or 4 hours.
Especially Delta as you noted in 2013. And because of that post, they probably recognized your name, and your face, and reassigned you. And you fell for it hook line and sinker.
As for the pictures on board the plane, if planes don’t want photos, they need to post signs. Or figure out how to allow them because Everyone has a camera and no one has an extreme expectation of privacy on a plane.

Delta changing seats could be for many many reasons. Possibly an aircraft change….who knows. But the fact that’s she acted like 10 year old when she didn’t get her way is inexcusable. And we say the millennial generations is messed up….look at the perfect example presented to us!!!! Delta refunded her $30 for her preferred seat just like any other business would have done. Instead of bashing a ANY company on any social media, perhaps you call the company and deal with them directly first. Oh but wait that’s to easy…I want my publicity first and to harm anyone and anything that comes in my path when I am wronged….seriously how do some of these people get famous??

‘Then when I complain…getting told I can have my $5 back and called names for being upset.’

Or rather, you launch an extended rant against the deli employees and insult other customers, and toss out comments about how ‘immigrants’ are taking your position in line. The deli might have screwed up in giving someone else your position, but they are perfectly in their rights to request that you not insult other passengers or staff.

To all my former DL friends, the post made by someone with the ID “Robbo” is not me. I would never use that kind of language on here. I also would never belittle my former employer. I gave them 32 years, and have nothing but respect for them. That move by all means was questionable, but the resulting tirade from AC, which continues, is certainly bizarre.

Coulter’s reaction is over the top, but seat issues on overcrowded flights are just par for the course these days. Increasingly, you have to fly first class, even domestically, just in order to maximize the chances you will get where you are going in the seat and on the flight you want and be treated nicely.

@Moth, for the record, she didn’t call anyone names until she was wronged, bullied and had her protest of the wrong treatment dismissed. Maybe she is milking the publicity, but I would argue that is why Delta should be especially careful antagonizing someone with as big of a megaphone as she has. Particularly in the post-Dao face bashing era where the public is already angry at being bullied by airlines.

If she was a liberal..Everyone including Delta would be falling over helping her. Never Fly Delta again. Another Hypocrite business.

Liberals are sick people. They have no morals or ethics. Obama and his liberal cronies hate the Constitution and free market capitalism. They do nothing but bleed the middle class dry.

My tax rate is 40% and my healthcare is now $700 per month thanks to Obamacare. My car insurance is still just $25/month (thanks to Insurance Panda), but if you look at Democrat strongholds like Detroit and New Orleans, where car insurance will run you $300+ per month, it’s easy to be pessimistic about the future of the United Socialist States of America.

The cultural Marxists have really done a number on Western youth, haven’t they? What a bunch of sick people.

Ann Coulter will never receive the sympathy that Dr. Dao received. She bullied and abused fellow passengers and they should have tossed her from the flight. She’s obnoxious with a big mouth and she thinks she can say and post anything she desires on Twitter with impunity. It’s just a matter of time until Gloria Allred goes after her and sues for what she did to her fellow passengers without their permission. Posting someone’s picture and verbally abusing them to over 1 million people is not acceptable behavior.

As a passenger I would be troubled if Coulter was sitting in an exit row. If an evacuation was needed how would I be sure that she would reflexively help each and every passenger, given her rhetoric against different groups?

I don’t think people like Coulter should be allowed to be seated in an exit row.

Even a non-rev isn’t moved after getting an assigned seat without politely being asked to move so someone could seat next to their family or partner. There has to be a real good reason to be forced to move to another seat. There has to be something she’s not telling us.

Wouldn’t it be significantly more practical, far easier in the long run and infinitely clearer for Delta to provide an explanation upfront – regardless what the ticket’s fine print legal catch all loops ensnare? I think a paying passenger should be afforded some sort of explanation. This isn’t really about Ann Coulter or whatever cause you feel obligated to shoehorn into this situation. It happens all the time to many “reserve seat” folks. I suggest that had Delta made an explanation (we are yet to hear) and an offer (as they did in their public response – make it better than face value!!) at the beginning, in the airplane, the outcry from Miss Coulter would sound shallow. Absent this reasonable action (and some might even say an astute business practice), calling foul should be expected. Who wouldn’t be ticked?

Better yet, put the late arriving passenger in the open seat. Duh-ta Airlines? Come on.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.

Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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